US not yet cured of racism: Obama

Washington: President Barack Obama used the politically incorrect ‘n-word’ during an interview to assert that racism persists in the US, including many forms that are not overt, and the nation was not “cured of it”.
“Racism, we are not cured of it. And It’s not just a matter of it not being polite to say nigger in public,” he said in a podcast interview with comedian Marc Maron released Monday. “That’s not the measure of whether racism still exists or not. It’s not just a matter of overt discrimination. Societies don’t, overnight, completely erase everything that happened 200 to 300 years prior,” he said.

The White House insisted that Obama didn’t set out to shock or provoke. His spokesman Josh Earnest said the President’s use of the taboo word was not part of a premeditated strategy to talk about race in a more challenging and overt way.

“I would acknowledge it is understandably notable that the President chose to use this word,” he said. “But the argument that the President is making is one that is familiar to those who have been listening.”

Obama said there has been progress on race relations over the decades, citing his own experience as a young man who was born to a white mother and an African father. He added, “I always tell young people, in particular, do not say that nothing has changed when it comes to race in America, unless you’ve lived through being a black man in the 1950s or ’60s or ’70s”.

“It is incontrovertible that race relations have improved significantly during my lifetime and yours,” Obama said.

But he also explained that “the legacy of slavery, Jim Crow, discrimination” exists in institutions and casts “a long shadow and that’s still part of our DNA that’s passed on.”

The White House later released a statement saying that this is not the first time the President has used the N-word.

“Truth is, he uses the term about a dozen times in Dreams from my Father,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz said.

Echoing comments he made in the immediate aftermath of last week’s horrific massacre at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, Obama also lamented Congress’s lack of action on gun control in the face of a powerful gun lobby.

“It’s not enough just to feel bad. There are actions that could be taken to make events like this less likely. One of those actions we could take would be to enhance some basic common sense gun safety laws,” he said.

“Unfortunately, the grip of the NRA (National Rifle Association) on Congress is extremely strong. I don’t foresee any legislative action being taken in this Congress.”
(IANS)

The Donald Trump Jr. landed in India yesterday and is slated to sell his luxury apartments and lavish attention on wealthy Indians. Wikimedia Commons

Recently, advertisements can be seen repeatedly in the past few days, announcing the arrival not of the Donald Trump but of his eldest son. The Donald Trump Jr. landed in India yesterday and is slated to sell his luxury apartments and lavish attention on wealthy Indians. The advertisement further charms the people with “a conversation and dinner” with Trump Jr., if buyers who order apartments in the development by Thursday.

After Trump Jr. landed in India, he was seen posing for photos in New Delhi with Indian developers. One of the builders included Kalpesh Mehta. His firm is supposed to be the main Indian partner for Trump-brand real estate projects.

Although, during his election campaigns, President Donald Trump has pledged to avoid any new foreign business deals during his term in office. One of the better reasons for this was seen as to avoid potential ethical conflicts. But the visit by his Donald Trump’s son has directed the promises made by his father in some other direction. Moreover, Trump Jr. is flying around the world trying to trade on the fact that his father is sitting in the Oval Office. The global experts have long seen the use of the Trump name to promote even existing business ventures as a tricky territory.

Trump family has real estate projects coming up in Mumbai, the New Delhi suburb of Gurgaon and the eastern city of Kolkata. Wikimedia Commons

The shocker over here is the scheduled speech of Trump Jr. about Indo-Pacific relations at a New Delhi business summit and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to share the stage with him. This has raised another set of ethics concerns by offering his thoughts on international relations, that too when Trump Jr. is not holding any portfolio in the US government. By sharing the stage with government officials and talking about international relations, he is surely portraying himself as an informal ambassador for the US.

Last November, Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump visited India with an altogether different agenda than that of Trump Jr. She led the U.S. contingent at a global business conference and even her speech was broadcasted live by various television stations.

Interestingly, it is not the first instance when President Trump’s sons have raised ethical concerns over their promotional visits. Last year only, Donald Trump’s sons inaugurated a Trump-branded golf club in Dubai. The two brothers are now official in-charge to lead the Trump Organization.

Trump Jr. has planned his sprawling building in the satellite city of India, Gurgaon. The people who are ready to invest huge sum into this can expect to move into their swanky homes sometime in 2023. To run his business in India, Trump Jr. has licensing agreements with all its Indian business partners. India holds out to be the brand’s largest market outside the United States. In Pune, a luxury complex is already operational. The expected price of apartments in the Trump Towers complex in Gurgaon runs between $775,000 and $1.5 million.

President Donald Trump has pledged to avoid any new foreign business deals during his term in office. Wikimedia Commons

Trump family has real estate projects coming up in Mumbai, the New Delhi suburb of Gurgaon and the eastern city of Kolkata.